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Sudio Niva: an affordable addition to the truly wireless earbuds race

Ever since the AirPods were released in 2016, a plethora of companies have entered the truly-wireless earbuds race. Sudio, the Swedish company that prides itself on making stylish headphones for the lifestyle-conscious user, has released their entry to the race.

Enter the Sudio Niva.

I’ve had the pleasure of using the Sudio Niva for a few months now, and I must say, it’s a great option if you’re not a fan of the AirPods’ price tag (or don’t use an iPhone).

As expected from Sudio, the Niva comes in elegantly minimalist packaging which comprises of the charging case, two pairs of ear tips with different sizes, and a short Micro USB cable for charging. I personally love the leather rope attached to the charging case, as it allows you to hang on to your bag if you want to. The earbuds stay secure in the case with a magnet, which is a great plus for ergonomics.

The headphones themselves, have a minimal look to them, with the earbuds made out matte black (or white) plastic with a selection of three different-sized rubber tips to get a comfortable fit in your ears. When in your ears, they don’t look comical, and they fit me quite snugly. The earbuds are slightly larger than your standard earphones, but they are light enough that you will quickly forget that you’re wearing them.

Each earbud has a single circular button on the outside, which are the only way for you to interact with the earphones from pairing them, to switching them on, to pausing the audio. I’d have loved for it to have swipe gestures as it can be rather uncomfortable to press the button while the headphones are in your ear.

One of my gripes was the process of turning on the headphones were a small hassle compared to the seamlessness of the AirPods or other truly wireless headphones out there. You need to take them out of the case, press and hold the buttons on both of the headphones and wait for them to find each other and connect. Then, you can connect your phone to them. If you forsee yourself popping this in and out of the charging case several times a day, this might be a bit of a hassle.

The Nivas were easy to pair with other Bluetooth devices, with no additional app necessary to access all its features.

In terms of comfort, the Nivas were easy on the ears even with the secure fit, with no slippage during moments of physical activity. Using the Nivas to receive phone calls was also a fairly hassle-free experience, with the inbuilt microphones doing a reasonable job.

The sound quality on the Niva are as good as you can get for the price range, and the sound stage is rather impressive. The charging case is convenient, and holds enough juice to get you through a day and some – so battery life isn’t an immediate concern with these headphones as it is with other truly wireless offerings.

If I were to recommend the Sudio Nivas, I’d do so on the basis of them being a great-looking pair of earphones with pretty good sound quality, one that provides wearers with the convenience of mobility and a decent amount of battery life to boot.

You can get 15% off the Sudio Niva if you use the code TFTNiva at checkout!